“Your pulse is racing.” Yi Xing remarked as his warm hand glided over the skin of her wrist. His action only made her heart pump harder. He cocked his head to the side and flashed a dimpled smile, “Since you’re so traumatized by your dream, maybe I should make you feel better.”

                “What are you trying to do?” she asked warily when he suddenly wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her out of bed. It happened so fast that she barely had time to say no. The cold floorboard her bare heels, causing her toes to curl in discomfort. Noticing her pained expression, Yi Xing released her wrist and bent down to fetch the bunny slippers from her bedside. He dropped them in front of her. Mumbling a quick thank you, she slipped her feet into the furry slippers, “That’s very considerate of you. Thank you.”

                “I think this is the first time you’ve ever said thank you to me.”

                “Are you saying I’m rude?”

                “Rude, no. Grumpy, a little bit.” He took her hand again, his index finger brushing over her pulse point, “And your body is still shaking from your nightmare, which is why I’m taking you to the Spirit World for a little drink. It’ll calm your nerves.”

                “I don’t drink.”

                He chuckled, “I’m not talking about alcohol, xiăo jiĕ.”

                “Then what are we drinking?” she was now more curious than ever. As a trained demon hunter, she knew she should stay away from Spirit foods and drinks. Food from the other world might be poisonous to her body. Even if the food was edible, they might also contain spells that would bind her to their world so that she couldn’t escape. But Yi Xing wasn’t a deceiving, manipulative demon. He wouldn’t trick her, right? She should trust him, right?

                “Come with me and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.” He placed his other hand lightly on her back, guiding her toward the darkness of his cape.

                She placed a hand over his chest, “Wait, let me change out of my PJs first.”

                “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”  

                She waved a hand in the air, “I can’t change with you watching.”

                The hú shén grinned mischievously, flashing his white teeth, “How can I possibly watch you when I have a hood over eyes?”

                “Haha, nice try, Einstein.” Opening her closet, she selected a pair of denim shorts and a white T-shirt, “Just stay here, I’ll change in the bathroom.”

***

                When she returned five minutes later, Yi Xing was sitting on the edge of her bed with his back facing her. She was about to scold him until she realized his hood was down. It was hard to make out the exact shade of his hair color in such dim lighting but she concluded that it must be a dark color. This was the first time that he’d been hoodless around her. Her fingers itched to touch his lush locks. Would it be as soft as the pelt of a real fox? Or would it feel like human hair?

                Quietly, she walked toward him with an outstretched hand. She jerked back in surprise when he telekinetically flipped his hood up. He spun around with dancer-like grace and smiled at her, “Ready to go, xiăo jiĕ?”

                She crossed her arms and glared at him, “You need to stop doing that.”

                “Do what?” The fact that he was playing dumb made her even more irritated. Gosh, this fox was exasperating! Why did she have such strong feelings for him when he annoyed her to no end? What the hell was wrong with her heart and mind? Why couldn’t she like someone normal?

                “You know what you’re doing.” She slipped on her black combat boots and grabbed her dagger, “I’m done dressing, let’s go.”

                “You really don’t need the dagger. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” he told her as he wrapped his cape over her.

                “Who said I’m using the dagger to kill demons? I could use it to kill you.”

                His laughter shook the air around them, “You can try but I don’t think you’ll succeed.”

                “I’ve killed many demons, you arrogant fox. Don’t you dare doubt my ability to slaughter rogue spirits. If I can kill them, I can kill you too.”

                “I’ve never doubt your ability. I know you’re a skilled hunter. But even the most skilled hunters have weaknesses.” He brushed his lips over her ear, “And I know your weakness is me.” Before she could retort and call him out on his oversized ego, he added in a soft voice, “I have a weakness too, and it’s you.”

                Her vision out for a few short seconds. At first, she thought she’d fainted from his heartfelt confession (which would be embarrassing as hell) but when her vision cleared, she realized they’d teleported to a forest in the Spirit World. It was the middle of the night here as well.

               Koi-shaped lanterns weaved around them, their papery tails swinging back and forth to propel them forward. She couldn’t guess how they stayed afloat when there weren’t even candles inside their bodies. Sure, their eyes glowed but the light didn’t come from any visible candles. Must be magic. She sighed to herself, knowing that she should stop being surprised. The Spirit World was governed by a whole different set of rules after all.

               Beyond the horizon was a large palace-styled building. Red lanterns with golden tassels hung from the curved tips of the golden-tiled roof. Sometimes puffs of white steam would escape through the cracks of the windows. But other than the occasional leaking of steam, she couldn’t really see what was inside the strange building.

                “Stay close to me.” Yi Xing warned in a serious tone as they began crossing the stone bridge that connected the forest to the palace-like building, “And don’t talk.”

               She didn’t know what he meant until a horse-faced spirit popped up in front of them.

                “Take this human back to her world! She isn’t allowed to be in this sacred place. Her mortal essence will taint the springs.” the horse-faced spirit said as he tried to shoo them away.

               “She will not touch the sacred springs. I’m just bringing her here to have a drink and relax a little.” Yi Xing said calmly. His message was polite and but his tone was firm, authoritative even. When the horse-faced spirit didn’t respond, the fox confidentially took her hand and finished crossing the bridge.

               The greeters outside the building stopped bowing to the other guests and gawked at the incoming couple. Nearly half of them pinched their noses and coughed distastefully as if they smelled something rotten. Feeling self-conscious, she brought her hand to her nose and sniffed herself. She couldn’t smell what they smell. The greeter spirits were acting as if they’d just inhaled a lungful of garbage but all she could smell on her skin was cherry blossom soap. They either smelled something that she couldn’t smell or they were acting rude to make her uncomfortable.

              “Stop!” commanded one of the greeters. She pointed an accusatory finger at Yi Xing, “You should know better than to bring a human to the springs. Shame on you!”

              Yi Xing bowed, “I promise on my soul that the springs will stay pure. Please let us in.”

             The greeter wrinkled her non-existent nose. After ten seconds of thinking, she finally unblocked the door’s entrance.

             “Thank you.” Yi Xing bowed again.

             “Take them to the corner room, the one that is the furthest away from the springs.” The greeter snapped to an enchanted frog in a red bowtie. The frog croaked and began hopping down the right wing of the building. When they arrived at the last room, the frog nudged the door open with his nose and signaled for the couple to go inside. It extremely dark inside but that changed when her foot touched the mat. Instantaneously, the walls and ceiling lit up, illuminating the room in a bright white glow. It was as if the walls and ceiling were made of units of light. She widened her eyes when watercolor paintings began appearing on the walls. 

              “Let’s sit.” Yi Xing said.

               Still marveling over the strange walls, she sat down on one of the wooden chairs. The hú shén took a seat on the opposite side of the table, directly across from where she was sitting.

               “One goblet of ambrosia for the young lady, please.” Yi Xing said without looking at the menu in the frog’s mouth, “And I’ll have a cup of your finest spring water.”

               Croaking in acknowledgement, the frog vanished from the room.

               “Ambrosia?” she choked. Her attention was now on the fox instead of the ever-changing walls.

                He smiled, “You will love it; it’s really good. The sweetness and texture is indescribable.”

                “Isn’t ambrosia reserved for the gods and demigods only? Why am I allowed to drink it?”

                “That’s a different type of ambrosia. The ambrosia you’ll be drinking is a relaxation drink. It is modeled after the original Greek drink in terms of taste but it doesn’t have the power to make you immortal like real ambrosia does.”

                “Oh. I learned something new today.” she pursed her lips, “Can we order food to eat? I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”

                “Sure. You can check out the menu when the waiter comes back with our drinks.” Yi Xing paused for a second, his tone becoming solemn all of a sudden, “And about what happened before…don’t take their words to heart. Sometimes spirits could be a little elitist.”  

                 A little? You mean a lot, she scoffed to herself. Those other spirits treated her like a contagious strain of disease. They made her feel inferior.

                Noticing the frown on her face, Yi Xing leaned forward and whispered, “You smell wonderful to me, xiăo jiĕ. I mean it.”

                It was such a simple statement but it made her heart fluttered. Yi Xing had claimed that ambrosia was sweet but she found his statement sweeter. But the sweetest thing about Yi Xing was probably his heart.  

Author's Note: From what I've researched, ambrosia can either be a drink or food in Greek mythology. It isn't entirely clear since some sources say it's food while others say it's a drink. In my story, ambrosia is a drink.

Anyway, have you guys seen EXO's official dance practice yet? They're so dorky, LOL. Kai is so cute in the end. :3 And Suho's smile and hand pose is adsgdfkjkfdsjdkedsgds. And of course, Yi Xing looks smoking hot in that black BWCW hoodie (I love when he had his hood up). Sehun is slaying my bias list like always, what else is new? The part in the bridge confused the hell outta me because the camera flips when it is Lulu's part. Even though the choreography for Growl is awesome, the rotating camera just messes my mind. I get so dizzy from watching the whole thing. 

SM, I'm still waiting for the waiter outfits and the drama version! Release them ASAP!